Controversial leader of far-right British party visits Damascus

LONDON – The leader of the far-right British National Party says he has traveled to Syria on a "fact-finding mission."

Nick Griffin, chairman of the BNP and a member of European Parliament, has called the Holocaust a hoax, Islam a wicked faith and defended the Ku Klux Klan.

In a series of Twitter messages posted Tuesday, he said he had crossed the border into Syria and was in Damascus. He said life in the capital is normal.

One message suggested sympathy with Syria's president Bashar Assad, saying the U.K. plans to send money and weapons to rebels dominated by "jihadis." Another message was a photo of Syria's ministry of the interior.

Britain's Foreign Office declined to comment.